


Remembrance

by autumnsolstice9



Series: Justice [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Caged bird seal, F/F, F/M, implied one sided Haruno Sakura/Hyuuga Hinata, one sided Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-06
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-07-25 20:54:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16205483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/autumnsolstice9/pseuds/autumnsolstice9
Summary: “Your position as heir has always been precarious. You cannot throw your life on the line, not as a Hyuuga.”Her words burn her throat like acid, and she tries to stand tall but cannot help the tremor that runs through her body. “Then I will throw it on the line as Hinata.”Alternatively: Hiashi wants to give Hinata the caged bird seal. Hinata wants justice.





	Remembrance

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this tumblr au idea: https://kurenaiclub.tumblr.com/post/178526313468/kurenaiclub-an-au-idea-after-her-fight-with

Hinata comes back from the dead with a death sentence looming over her. They tell her she was never really gone, just very close to being dead, but Hinata is a Hyuuga and she notices how Sakura’s voice wavers when she says it, how Tenten’s hand clenches by her side, and how Neji's face seems more pinched than usual.

She remembers seeing her mother and uncle playing shogi on a porch that was so very not-Hyuuga. She remembers her mother looking at her with lilac eyes so like her own, a soft “Hinata?” echoing in the breeze as she slowly reached out towards her. She remembers her holding her breath and, right before grabbing her mother's hand, she was ripped away from her.

She remembers a love confession.

“I’m sorry,” Sakura tells her, “but I couldn’t get rid of the scar.”

Hinata looks down at her chest and sees angry, red puckered skin, similar to the scar she carries on her chest from Neji. It looks ugly, a reminder of her failure. It looks beautiful, a reminder of what someone is willing to do for love.

“All that for Naruto, huh?” Sakura weakly jokes.

She remembers a love confession and she remembers death. She remembers her mother and her uncle and the way dying felt so very, very easy. She remembers Naruto and chakra rods.

“I love him,” she whispers, scared to admit it once again. “I love him, I love my village.” Hinata grabs onto Sakura’s trembling hand and holds it tight. “I couldn’t just stand by. Not for him, not for anyone.”

Sakura squeezes tight and for a moment it is just the two of them, Team Gai faded into the background. “I love him,” Hinata breathes out, “I love him so much.”

“I know,” Sakura replies, letting go of Hinata’s hand with gentle care. There is something unfathomable in her eyes, something Hinata has seen in the mirror but never named. “Let’s get you somewhere safe.”

Neji helps lift her up, and together he and Sakura begin to carry her towards what remains of the Hyuuga compound. They find her a room with a bed and lay her down, and if Sakura’s touch lingers longer than is necessary, Hinata doesn’t question it.

She and Neji do not talk about it, nor do they mention her father’s stern face, byakugan activated, that had been awaiting them when they returned to the compound.

Hyuuga see everything, Hinata knows this. When Sakura and Neji leave her room, she still feels her father’s heavy gaze on her.

She remembers it from when she was younger.

She sleeps fitfully through the night.

***

Her father is calm when he calls her into his chambers, but his words are filled with ice. “Hinata, you cannot throw your life on the line for a boy, much less the jinchuriki. You are the Main House. You are weak, you will lose.”

“I won’t stop doing it, Father. It doesn’t matter if it’s Naruto or anyone else. I can’t stand by and do nothing. If I die, I will die with honor and know I tried. That is my shinobi way.” Her chest aches where Sakura had healed her, but it only fuels her. How could he expect her to watch someone die and do nothing? She has killed, has shed blood more times than she can count, but she refuses to let someone innocent die. And, even when she ignores her sometimes blinding love for him, she knows that Naruto is innocent. 

“Your position as heir has always been precarious. You cannot throw your life on the line, not as a Hyuuga.” It is like a slap to the face, but Hinata has known this all her life. Ever since she was young, she knew that her being an heiress was official only to those outside the clan. All the Hyuuga knew she was despised by her father, cast off as weak, and would unlikely actually claim her title. Hinata knows this, has always known this.

Her words burn her throat like acid, and she tries to stand tall but cannot help the tremor that runs through her body. “Then I will throw it on the line as Hinata.”

After all, she has always failed at being Hyuuga.

“You knew this was coming. When you recover from your injuries, you will receive the seal.”

She does not feel surprised, only heavy. She has had nightmares over these words since she was deemed a failure as a child, but now, as a teenager, she just feels tired. Hinata thinks that it is like a prophecy has finally come true: she, the failure, the never-to-be-heir, will get the seal. She wants to cry, wants to scream, wants to fight.

Instead, she remains calm. “I love him, Father,” she says, just loud enough for him to hear. She wants him to understand who she is, why she did what she did.

He does not answer.

***

“Sakura, how long will it take for me to heal?”

Her friend shoots a smile at her. “About a week or two, but don’t worry, you’ll be ready to get back into action soon! Don’t push yourself like Kakashi-sensei does,” she adds in a darker tone.

Hinata can feel her breath catch in her throat. She has a week left before she is sealed, before she becomes yet another Hyuuga slave.

Her fear must translate to her face, because Sakura lightly grabs her arm. “Hey,” she says, pulling Hinata towards a quieter part of the hospital, “what’s going on? Is it that Naruto?”

She can’t disclose clan secrets, and the ‘heiress’ being sealed is most definitely a clan secret. Hinata knows she cannot tell Sakura that, so instead she tells her the next best thing.

“I am thinking of wearing my hitai-ate the same way as Neji-nii-san,” she says, and hopes Sakura picks up on the hint of desperation in her voice.

She waits and waits for Sakura to read between the lines, but she doesn’t get a response. “Ah, Hinata, I don’t see how that relates to your injuries, but you better not be trying to get back in the field yet!” A nurse then calls the medic over, and Sakura quickly rushes away with a casual ‘see you soon’.

Hinata does not know when soon will next be.

***

Kurenai visits her five days after Pein attacked her. They walk to her sensei’s apartment, where they talk about love and life.

“I heard you confessed to Naruto,” Kurenai teases before her face grows serious. “Did he answer you?”

“Ah, no, but I guess it doesn’t matter much if he answers.” She thinks of a boy destined for greatness and a seal that keeps her tied to a clan that sees only its own greatness. “My father thinks I acted rashly.”

“No,” Kurenai cuts in, “You were brave. You were so very brave, and I am so proud of you.” Her sensei’s hand is warm on her shoulder, and Hinata suddenly remembers reaching for her mother’s hand only to be thrust back into the land of the living.

“Sensei, I think I want to wear my hitai-ate the same way Neji does.”

Her teacher picks up on what she means immediately. “I know,” she says, “And I know what you’re going to do.”

Hinata hasn’t voiced her plan since her father told her about the sealing, since a date was picked for her to become a caged bird. She’s not sure how Kurenai figured it out, but her team has always known her best. 

“Kurenai-sensei, I love you. You’re like a mother to me. I feel more Yuuhi than Hyuuga on some days.”

There is a small, almost bitter smile on Kurenai’s face. “Two love confessions in one week? It’s just not like you, Hinata.” She pulls Hinata into a hug and her voice is the most serious Hinata has ever heard. “I’ve always seen you as a daughter. You are Yuuhi in everything but name. Be careful, Hinata, you know the consequences of what you’re about to do.”

Hinata breathes in the familiar scent of her sensei and feels like a child again, back when her father told her she was a waste and that Kurenai could keep her. “Tell Kiba and Shino I love them.”

“I will.” Kurenai holds her close and places a kiss on her forehead. “I love you, Hinata.”

In two days she will be sealed. She spends the night at her sensei’s apartment, crying over a future she dreamed of that will never come, over a boy she loves who will never answer her confession, over a village she would die for but who lets her people live as slaves.

Her sensei cries with her. Hinata’s chest aches, and she’s not sure if it’s because of her injury or because of her pain. She thinks it may be both.

***

Hyuuga is a house of many eyes, but Hinata has long grown used to being overlooked. She packs a bag with ration bars and kunai, clothes to last her for however long her travels will.

Hanabi and Neji quietly sneak into her room. “What are you doing?” Hanabi asks. Neji watches her with understanding, heavy eyes. 

She is to be sealed tomorrow.

“I love you both, so very, very much.”

Her sister’s face screws up in pain when she takes in Hinata’s words, the bag she has packed and slung over her shoulder. “Nee-san…” she whispers, and it is enough to make Hinata force her eyes shut.

“I’ll be back,” she tells them as she hugs them for the last time in what may be a very long time. “Hyuuga is a house of many eyes, but they do not see. They refuse to see change. They do not see the future. They will not see this. Please don’t be angry with me. I’ll be back, I promise.”

Neji and Hanabi hold onto her tight. “I could never be mad at you over this,” her cousin tells her, “I’m sorry for how I treated you when we were younger.”

Hanabi sniffles into her shoulder. “I love you, nee-san. I understand why you have to do this.”

Her chest still feels weak, and saying goodbye to her family makes it feel as if it will collapse. “I love you both.” She takes a moment to look at their faces, etching every feature into her memory, and then she disappears into the night, leaving the Hyuuga compound behind.

She can’t remember a time when there were no cursed seals in her home, but she can envision a future without them.

She approaches the village gates and, so very distantly, thinks of the Uchiha and whether large clans were destined for doom. She wonders if Naruto will miss her when she leaves, whether he will chase after her like he chases after Sasuke. She wonders if she will ever see him again, if she will ever get an answer to a love she proclaimed before certain death. She thinks of Naruto telling Neji that destiny isn’t defined, that it is what you make it.

The Hyuuga have always been destined a tragic life.

She leaves the village and vanishes into the trees.

***

She has been running for five minutes before she is tackled to the ground.

There is a familiar hum and growl, and Hinata looks up into the faces of her teammates. Kiba looks angry, and Shino’s kikaichu click almost menacingly. 

“What,” Kiba barks out, “did you think you could just leave the village?”

In a million years, she never thought her teammates would stop her, not when she can choose between running or getting sealed. She stands up slowly and takes her fighting stance. She will not be sealed without a fight.

“Kiba, you idiot, she thinks we’re here to fight her. Calm down.”

She looks over at Shino, who still seems angry, but at least she now knows it’s not at her. 

“Well, I can’t calm down! I’m angry!” Kiba practically shouts. “She’s leaving, Shino!”

“I’ll be back,” Hinata quickly adds, and Kiba and Shino’s gazes are immediately on her. “I promise to return. I just can’t be there now, not when I’m this weak. Someone has to stop my father, stop the Hyuuga elders, stop the village elders. I’ll be back.”

Her teammates, her wonderful, beautiful, amazing teammates who she loves more than anything in the world, study her and give her a sharp nod. “We know,” Shino says, “Kurenai-sensei told us about the seal. Just know that when you return, the Aburame will be on your side. No one dares to defy us.”

Kiba pulls her into a hug and Akamaru rubs against her legs. “The Inuzuka will stand by you. And if the clan doesn’t, I will.” 

Akamaru makes a whining sound, and all three members of team 8 stand alert. They know that whine. People are coming. Hinata activates her byakugan and sees five Hyuuga guards approaching, fast. She’s been found out, her father knows.

“There’s five guards coming for me,” she tells them, “you guys have to go. You don’t have to be involved.”

It’s hard to tell with his coat, but she’s sure Shino is smirking. “As if we would let you do it alone. We’re a team remember?”

“We’re best friends,” Kiba adds. “Hinata, we want you to run. We’ll take care of the guards.”

Her chest swells with adoration for her team. “Thank you, both. I love you so much.”

“We know,” Kiba and Shino say in unison. “We love you, too.” Akamaru gives a tiny yip and even Shino’s bugs seem to hum contentedly.

The Hyuuga guards are close enough now that they can be heard. “Run,” Shino tells her.

She does as he says and does not look back.

She will return to Konoha. She will free the Hyuuga.

***

Days later, miles away in Konoha, Hiashi is furious and the village is confused.

The Hyuuga heir is gone, they whisper, she’s become a missing-nin.

Sakura screams into a pillow. Naruto moves in a daze. 

Hanabi and Neji walk proudly through the streets of Konoha. “She will be back,” they whisper under their breath. “She will return.”

The Hyuuga sees everything. They did not see this coming.

“She will be back,” branch members whisper to each other. “She will return and save us.”

In a town far away, Hinata cuts her hair short with a sharpened kunai. “I love my village,” she says. “I love my people. I will save my people." She crosses the leaf out of her hitai-ate.

She runs.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm thinking of making this a series! Idk yet, but I'm adding it to a series just because I love this idea.
> 
> Also Sakura is implied to love Hinata because I love gay ninjas okay thx


End file.
